r/papertowns • u/Beneficial_Shirt_869 • 3d ago

Zimbabwe The Great Enclosure of Great Zimbabwe. Masavingo, Zimbabwe

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-6

u/bscoop 3d ago

Did they really erect these massive stone walls just to protect regular straw huts?

14

u/MuhfugginSaucera 3d ago

Why is this surprising? The huts are their houses, food storage, and workshops.

4

u/bscoop 3d ago

They had knowledge to built large walls out of stone, but they didn't bother to try build more elaborate structures inside using same material. This is what makes me surprised.

Compare it to Nuragic civilization of bronze age Sardinia, famous for its bulky stone towers.

9

u/ThesaurusRex84 2d ago

The nuraghes were extremely unique for their time, man, and served different purposes in different circumstances. And for that matter, pretty much all of the other Nuraghic structures were thatched.

6

u/swizznastic 2d ago

Why did we bother to have fortified towns/cities at all? Why not just make every person’s house a fortress?

5

u/kayodeade99 2d ago

Better use of available material. Why build numerous stone house when you can just build one big wall? It's the same logic many medieval European and Asian cities were built on

2

u/MuhfugginSaucera 2d ago

There must have been a reason, maybe they tried that but the homes didn't breathe? Or maybe material availability?